The present invention relates to an apparatus for and a method of marking objects, objects marked thereby and an apparatus for and a method of reading such marked objects. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for and a method of radioactively marking objects, objects radioactively marked thereby and an apparatus for and a method of reading such radioactively marked objects.
In theft of gemstones and other objects of value which have no unique identifying features, such as vehicle parts, the most common difficulty is accurately identifying a stolen object as being a particular object which was stolen from a certain owner. This problem is of particular concern to insurance companies, in that gems and other objects of value are often insured and it has been difficult to identify the stolen object even if it is recovered. Insurance companies in the past have also been subject to fraudulent claims. Thus, identification of objects of value and the tracking of thereof remains a problem.
A number of systems have been proposed for identifying gemstones, as well as other objects of value, insured objects, numbered objects and/or licensed objects, to provide what may be referred to as an identification pattern of the object.
One example is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 5,124,935 which teaches optical fingerprints of gemstones. Although, the optical fingerprint is accurate and acceptable by the courts for determining whether a gemstone under consideration is the same gemstone which produced a previously recorded fingerprint, this method is limited in applicability to cases wherein natural variability among objects of the same type exists and is therefore inappropriate for more widespread applications.
Other examples involve inscription of information by physically removing substance, e.g., by a physical scraper, laser or plasma. These methods are limited for obvious reasons. First, these methods result in a visible mark, which therefore has to be kept minimized. Second, being of small dimensions, the mark is readily altered or removed altogether. Third, a central facility is required to apply such inscriptions. Fourth, in some cases, such as when marking gemstones, the inscription process may result in damaging the stone beyond the damage inherently associated with inscription marking techniques.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, an apparatus and method for marking objects, objects marked thereby and means with which one can read the information marked on the objects, which are devoid of the above limitations.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for marking objects, the apparatus comprising (a) a source device including a mother isotope for emitting daughter isotopes by radioactive decay; preferably, (b) a positioning mechanism for positioning an object in close proximity to the source device; and (c) a patterning mechanism for restricting implantation of the daughter isotopes into a surface of the object, so as to create a detectable pattern of the daughter isotopes on the object.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided an article of manufacture comprising an object having a surface, the surface including implanted therein a predetermined and detectable pattern of a radioactive isotope.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of marking an object, the method comprising the step of implanting into a surface of the object a predetermined and detectable pattern of a daughter radioactive isotope.
According to still another aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for detecting a radioactive pattern of a radioactive isotope being implanted in a predetermined and detectable pattern in a surface of a three dimensional object, the apparatus comprising (a) a position sensitive radioactivity detector; and (b) an acceptor for accepting the three dimensional object and for positioning the surface of the three dimensional object in close proximity to the position sensitive radioactivity detector so as to permit detection of the pattern by the position sensitive radioactivity detector.
According to an additional aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of detecting a radioactive pattern of a radioactive isotope being implanted in a predetermined and detectable pattern in a surface of a three dimensional object, the method comprising the steps of (a) providing a position sensitive radioactivity detector; and (b) positioning the surface of the three dimensional object in close proximity to the position sensitive radioactivity detector so as to permit detection of the pattern by the position sensitive radioactivity detector.
According to further features in preferred embodiments of the invention described below, the acceptor is a keyhole, whereas, the three dimensional object is a key, such that only a specific pattern, as detected by the position sensitive radioactivity detector, results in the keyhole operatively responding to the key.
According to still an additional aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of detecting a radioactive pattern of a radioactive isotope being implanted in a predetermined and detectable pattern in a surface of a three dimensional object, the method comprising the steps of (a) implanting radioactive isotopes emitted from the object into a surface of an intermediate medium; and (b) positioning the surface of the intermediate medium in close proximity to a position sensitive radioactivity detector so as to permit detection of the pattern by the position sensitive radioactivity detector.
According to further features in preferred embodiments of the invention described below, the patterning mechanism includes a mask.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the mask is composed of an assembly of mask units, each of the mask units serves for creating a pattern element.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the source device and the patterning mechanism are functionally integrated.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the source device is composed of an assembly of source units, each of the source units serves for creating a pattern element.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the detectable pattern includes a plurality of pattern elements selected from the group consisting of alphanumeric symbols, bar-code elements, array-code elements and intensity-code elements.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments a concentration and type of the mother isotope is selected such that implantation of the daughter isotopes into the surface of the object results in radioactivity whose magnitude is less than 10 Bq/g (currently the lowest approved regulatory limit).
According to still an additional aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of determining a presence of a specific radioactive pattern of a radioactive isotope being implanted in a predetermined pattern in a surface of an object, the method comprising the steps of (a) using a radioactivity detector for determining a presence of radioactive emission from the object; and (b) masking the object with a mask being designed to substantially shield the radioactivity detector from the predetermined pattern, such that if the object is radioactive and further if the mask substantially shields the radioactivity detector from the predetermined pattern, then the presence of the specific radioactive pattern of the radioactive isotope is positively determined, whereas if the object is either non-radioactive or if the object is radioactive and further if the mask fails to shield the radioactivity detector from the predetermined pattern, then the presence of the specific radioactive pattern of the radioactive isotope is negatively determined.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiment the mother isotope is 226Ra.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments, the daughter isotope is selected from the group consisting of 222Rn, 210Pb, 210Bi and 210Po.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the mother isotope is characterized by a half live time of a plurality of years.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the daughter isotopes include at least one isotope characterized by a half live time of a plurality of days.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the daughter isotopes include at least one isotope characterized by a half live time of a plurality of years.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the object is of a value and is of a type of objects which are typically insured, numbered or licensed.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the object is selected from the group consisting of a precious stone, a gem stone, a piece of antiquity, a weapon, a painting, a part of an engine, a part of a vehicle, a key, a CD/DVD, an electronic wafer, an integrated circuit and a solid consumer good.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the object is an element which is usable in marking a second object.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the element includes an adhesive.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the step of implanting into the surface of the object the predetermined and detectable pattern of the daughter radioactive isotope is effected by positioning the object in close proximity to a source of a mother radioactive isotope.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the source of the mother radioactive isotope is accompanied by a patterning mechanism so as to create the predetermined and detectable pattern of the daughter radioactive isotope.
According to yet an additional aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of marking an object of value, the method comprising the steps of (a) using a source of a mother isotope for implanting a predetermined and detectable pattern of daughter isotopes onto a surface of a stamp; and (b) attaching the stamp to the object for implanting grand-daughter isotopes onto a surface of the object, thereby replicating the predetermined and detectable pattern of daughter isotopes in a form of the grand-daughter isotopes onto the surface of the object.
According to further features in preferred embodiments of the invention described below, the stamp includes an adhesive, whereas the step of attaching the stamp to the object is effected by adhering the stamp via the adhesive to the surface of the object. According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the mother isotope is 226Ra.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the daughter isotope is 222Rn.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the grand-daughter isotope is 210Pb, 210B and 210Po.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the mother isotope is selected such that the daughter isotope is characterized by a half life time of a plurality of days and further wherein the grand-daughter isotope is characterized by a half life time of a plurality of years.
Further according to the present invention there is provided a method of establishing the authenticity of an object being marked with a radioactive code, the method comprising the steps of (a) storing in a database server information pertaining to at least one feature of the object and information pertaining to the radioactive code; (b) reading the radioactive code from the object; (c) based on the radioactive code retrieving from the database server the information pertaining to the at least one feature of the object; and (d) based on the at least one feature of the object retrieved from the database server and an actual feature of the object establishing the authenticity of the object.
The present invention successfully addresses the shortcomings of the presently known configurations by providing new horizons to object identification, which overcome the limitations associated with prior art designs.